updated 08:25 am EST, Tue February 19, 2008

Apple Spurs Memory Prices

A lack of orders from Apple is triggering a price drop in the NAND flash memory used by many companies for storage, say claims from memory manufacturers. While requests for memory from device makers have gone up since the very start of the year, a glut of supply outpacing demand for iPhones and iPods has sent prices downward as memory producers seek to clear stock: an 8 gigabit (1GB) MLC chip sells for less than $3, while even a 16 gigabit (2GB) chip is very nearly at the $5 level, according to the claims. These larger chips are said to be under the highest amount of price pressure as electronics firms demand more capacity.

The burgeoning market for solid-state drives, such as the 64GB Samsung Flash SSD available with the MacBook Air, is not said to be enough to help offset the overstock problem.

This news comes just as Apple has cut the iPod shuffle's price by $30, bringing its player within range of competitors that had already taken advantage of low memory prices.